“The more complex the problem, the more necessary for it to be handled in a prudent way,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Wang was addressing the annual Parliament session in China.

The Chinese Foreign Minister said, “it is not by accident that the situation has reached this point”.

“The priority now is to exercise calm and restraint and prevent further escalation of the situation,” Wang said.

Meanwhile, New Delhi has said Moscow has “legitimate” interests in Ukraine and they should be discussed to find a satisfactory solution to the issue.

“We are watching what is happening in Ukraine with concern… The broader issues of reconciling various interests involved and there are, after all, legitimate Russian and other interests involved and we hope those are discussed, negotiated and there is a satisfactory resolution to them,” Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said two days ago.

The Indian National Security Advisor was asked to comment on India’s assessment of the situation in Ukraine and its overall impact on Indian interests. Menon expressed hope that the “internal issues in Ukraine are settled peacefully” but refused to comment further saying “at this stage when everything is fluid, I don’t think we can tell you.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Washington on Friday against “hasty and reckless” steps over the crisis in Ukraine that could harm Russia-US relations.

Lavrov told US Secretary of State John Kerry that any sanctions against Russia “would inevitably hit the United States like a boomerang.”

US President Barack Obama on Thursday announced the first set of sanctions against Moscow to punish Russia for perceived violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The sanctions include visa bans and asset freezes against unidentified Russian officials deemed responsible for the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.

Crimea, a majority ethnic Russian region within Ukraine, decided on Friday to ignore a presidential order and proceed with an upcoming vote to secede and join Russia.

Crimea’s parliament, members of which have declared they do not recognize the interim government in Kiev, decided on Thursday to secede from Ukraine and request annexation by Russia.

57 founding members, many of them prominent US allies, will sign into creation the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Monday, the first major global financial instrument independent from the Bretton Woods system.

Representatives of the countries will meet in Beijing on Monday to sign an agreement of the bank, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. All the five BRICS countries are also joining the new infrastructure investment bank.

The agreement on the $100 billion AIIB will then have to be ratified by the parliaments of the founding members, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing in Beijing.

The AIIB is also the first major multilateral development bank in a generation that provides an avenue for China to strengthen its presence in the world’s fastest-growing region.